What is Origami?

What is origami? This topic is often discussed on theorigami
list, and can be quite a complex question. Does origami refer to
folding paper, or does it include other mediums, like sheet metal or
edible paper-thin pancakes? Is origami a craft or an art? Can it be
both? Should the definition of origami allow some gluing and cutting, as
long as the origami model is arrived at mainly through folding? In an
email to the origami list dated 21 Jan 1999,Joseph
Wuprovided this simple
yet encompassing definition, which I happen to like quite a bit:

Origami is a form of
visual / sculptural representation that is defined
primarily by the folding of the medium (usually paper).

You may have your own ideas on this subject. As has been pointed
out on the origami list, the search for an exact definition might at
first seem impractical: put simply, who cares? Well, suppose someone
were to set up a permanent origami exhibition at a museum, or a
charitable trust for the promotion of origami. Both of these situations
would require the organizers to set down a definition of origami for
legal purposes.

As for the word itself, it is commonly known that the word is
Japanese in origin;orumeans
"to fold", andkamimeans
"paper". But did you know that the folding of paper was not always
called origami? Hatori Koshiro providesan
interesting history of origami, as well as some thoughts on my
original question ofwhat
is origami.

The History of Origami

David Lister, one of the foremost Western historians in the field
of origami history, was nice enough to send me his"TWO
MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS OF JOTTINGS ON THE HISTORY OF ORIGAMI". In
describing the piece, he writes:

I intended to cover the whole of the history of
paperfolding in three short pieces. However, the third
piece, covering Origami in the West since the formation
of the origami Center in 1958, still has to be written.
It is partly because I am still chewing round how to
select and organize the enormous amount of information,
and partly beause I have been busy with other things.

Mr. Lister cautions that these pieces are by no means a complete History
of Origami, and that there may be errors and omissions. We are all
looking forward to David Lister's complete origami history in a
published format, but in the meantime we can still learn so much from
his wonderful "miscellaneous collections of jottings", presented to you
here:

The Origins of the term "Origami"

If you are interested in some of the more detailed information
that David Lister can provide on the history of origami, a good place to
start might be with the very first use of the word "origami". David
Lister explains in an email to the origami list dated 17 Jan 1999 that
the first use of the word "origami" in Japan did not refer to what we
now think of as paperfolding but instead topaper
certificates. Mr. Lister's email is provided here, again with his
cautions that there may be errors and omissions:

...it is a fact that the first use of the word "Origami" in Japan was
not for our familiar recreational paperfolding, but for certificates. I
have several references, including the following from an article by
Yoshizawa translated inThe
Origamianin autumn 1963:

We have an expression in
my country, "Origami Tsuki" meaning "certified or
"guaranteed". The phrase stems from our ancient custom
of folding certain special documents - such as diplomas
for Tea Ceremony masters, or masters of swordsmanship -
in such a way as to prevent unauthorized copies from
being made.

In FOLD, issue 45 (September - October 1992)Professor
James Sakodawrote the
following:

I consulted the 1932
edition of a Japanese encyclopedia put out by Heibonsha
under the title "origami". An early use of the term
referred to Japanese paper folded in half, thirds or
smaller sizes.......Folded paper came to be used for
certificates which accompanied valued objects such as
swords or gifts presented to others. The term "origami"
referred to such documents, while the term "origami
tsuki" ("accompanied by origami") meant that a gift was
accompanied by a certificate - i.e. that it was
authenticated. An early document is dated ....... 1185,
so that this usage is an old one.

Dominique Buisson, who carried out research into Japanese arts and
crafts in Japan, refers to "origami-tsuki" in his bookManuel
pratique d'origami, Paris, 1988. I translate:

Folding was, then, a
ceremonial act, contrasted with private use which was
therefore concealed. This was so, for example, with
"origami-tsuki" which one placed on a work of art
concerning its appraisement during the Muromachi era
(1333-1573). This fold was none other than a certificate
folded in two and having the same meaning as the word
"diploma", rendered into Latin as "a letterfolded into
two."

Buisson dated origami-tsuki to the Muromachi era, but it will be
noticed that James Sakoda's source puts the origins of "origami-tsuki"
back into the Heian era. Clearly, too, there are differences of emphasis
between the three accounts I have quoted.

This was the first usage of the word "origami" so far traced in
Japan. The word "origami" came to be used occasionally for another kind
of ceremonial folding, namely for "tsutsumi", or formal wrappers, by the
beginning of the 18th century. However, its use for recreational origami
of the kind with which we are familiar did not come until the end of the
nineteenth century or the beginning of the twentieth. Before that,
paperfolding for play was known by a variety of names, including
"orikata", "orisue", "orimono", "tatamgami" and others. Exactly why the
switch came to "origami" is not clear, but it has been suggested that
the word was adopted in the kindergartens because the written characters
were easier for young children to write. I have suggested that the word
"origami" was a direct translation of the German word "Papierfalten",
brought into Japan with the the Kindergarten Movement around 1880. My
theory has not found favor with Japanese historians, but I think it
would be wrong to rule out the possiblility of any influence of the
German word.

"Noshi" are a kind of ceremonial fold entirely distinct from
"origami-tsuki". Put simply, they are not certifictes, but are attached
to gifts to express "good wishes". But "noshi" are another subject.

The wonder is that both the ancient Greeks and the Japanese
adopted the use of folded paper (presumably vellum or parchment in the
case of the Greeks) for a certificate. Were these two entirly separate
developments, or was it a usage that spread from one end of Asia to the
other, at a time and by some means hidden in the remote past?

Other Origami History Web Sites

Here are some links to more information on origami history. But be
warned! Even well-known and well-respected origami books such as Peter
Engel'sFolding the
Universecontain
incorrect information on origami history. The historical section in
Engel's book, for instance, is merely a compilation from various books
that he mentions in his bibliography, some of which contain incorrect
information or state conjectures as though they were established facts.
If you are using these pages to do research on origami history, make
sure you check your facts!